`Bruno` Set For Fabulous Box Office

Sacha Baron Cohen`s R-rated Universal release `Bruno` is likely to produce $30 million-plus through Sunday.

Moviegoers are being offered lots of laughs at domestic multiplexes this weekend, with a pair of comedies targeting distinct audiences opening wide Friday.

Sacha Baron Cohen's R-rated Universal release "Bruno" is likely to produce $30 million-plus through Sunday. Fox, which passed on releasing "Bruno" over cost concerns despite success in 2006 with Baron Cohen's "Borat," debuts the Chris Columbus-directed high school comedy "I Love You, Beth Cooper."

But Fox's prospects for a lucrative session reside more with the sophomore round of its 3D animated threequel "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs." Even a 60% drop from its first weekend would produce a nifty $20 million or so this frame.

"I expect to have a very solid second session this weekend," Fox distribution president Bruce Snyder said.

Paramount's action sequel "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" should enjoy a third successful weekend after narrowly repeating atop the box office last session.

The robot pic is already well north of $300 million domestically. But no pure action movie hits the theaters until Paramount debuts "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" on Aug. 7, so the Michael Bay blockbuster should continue to party hardy.

Set to unspool Wednesday, Warners' "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" will take a bite out of "Transformers" grosses during its first session. But the PG-rated action fantasy will compete more directly with "Ice Age."

"Bruno" has drawn mostly favorable early reviews, yet buzz seems less fervid than with "Borat" despite tireless promo stumping by Baron Cohen. A big bow seems assured, but it will be closely watched afterward for signs of the sturdy gams displayed by $129 million domestic grosser "Borat."

But Universal won't be looking for huge grosses from conservative markets in the Midwest and South in light of the movie's crude comic themes. Its relatively light distribution in 2,757 North American venues reflects that constricted appeal.

Some have suggested that the humor in "Bruno," in which Baron Cohen impersonates a gay Austrian fashionista, is a tad more mean-spirited than his antics in "Borat." But his new picture's political incorrectness seems well-suited for generating reams of free publicity before, during and after its opening weekend.

"Beth Cooper" targets younger females. But tracking has been soft, so even double-digit millions could prove elusive in its opening weekend. The pic's titular role is played by Hayden Panettiere of NBC's "Heroes."

In a limited bow this weekend, Sony Pictures Classics unspools the music documentary "Soul Power" in six locations in New York and Los Angeles. The studio will expand its sci-fi thriller "Moon" by 199 playdates for a total 246, and Summit Entertainment broadens Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq War drama "The Hurt Locker" from nine theaters to 59 in 17 U.S. markets.